This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 091212285, filed on Aug. 8, 2002.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic bath additive feeder, more particularly to an automatic bath additive feeder with a valve unit that permits branching of a liquid flow to an additive container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hydrotherapy normally involves adding additives, such as mineral salts, into a water body in a bathtub or a spa pool. Conventionally, the additives can be directly dissolved in the water body or can be placed in a bag prior to immersion in the water body. Since the water body must be drained from the bathtub or the spa pool after hydrotherapy, both ways of adding the additives into the water body can result in waste of the additives.
The object of the present invention is to provide an automatic bath additive feeder that is capable of controlling the adding rate of the additives into the water body so as to overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to the present invention, an automatic bath additive feeder comprises: an additive container confining an inner space that is adapted to receive an additive bag therein, and having a top open end; and a valve unit. The valve unit includes a valve body that has a bottom wall mounted on and covering sealingly the top open end of the additive container and formed with first and second valve openings which are in fluid communication with the inner space. The valve body further has an annular flange extending transversely from the bottom wall and formed with an inlet adjacent to the first valve opening and an outlet adjacent to the second valve opening. The annular flange has a top open end, and confines a valve chamber that is in fluid communication with the inlet, the outlet, and the first and second valve openings. The inlet is adapted to be connected to a liquid supply for passage of a liquid flow therethrough. A rotating part is mounted on and covers sealingly the top open end of the annular flange. The rotating part includes a valve disk that is disposed in the valve chamber, that is seated rotatably on the bottom wall of the valve body, and that is formed with a first hole corresponding to the first valve opening and a second hole corresponding to the second valve opening. The valve disk is rotatable between an opened position, in which, the first and second holes are respectively registered with the first and second valve openings, thereby permitting fluid communication between the valve chamber and the inner space through the first and second valve openings, and a closed position, in which, the first and second valve openings are respectively offset from the first and second holes and are blocked by the valve disk, thereby preventing fluid communication between the valve chamber and the inner space. A partitioning plate is mounted securely in the valve chamber, is disposed between the first and second holes, and extends in a transverse direction relative to the valve disk so as to divide the valve chamber into a first chamber half that is in fluid communication with the inlet and the first hole, and a second chamber half that is in fluid communication with the outlet and the second hole. The valve unit is formed with a channel between the first and second chamber halves such that the liquid flow entering into the first chamber half through the inlet is divided into a main stream that flows from the first chamber half through the channel and into the second chamber half, and a branched stream that flows from the first chamber half through the first hole and the first valve opening and into the inner space and that further flows from the inner space through the second valve opening and the second hole and into the second chamber half when the valve disk is rotated to the opened position, thereby permitting transport of the additive into the second chamber half and discharging of the liquid flow together with the additive from the outlet.